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Who Is Marion Harrington?
I’m the main protagonist in this, the story of a classical musician building a portfolio music business the second time around after a long and varied career. I was born into a musical family (Aylward) – which can trace its roots in the UK back to the 1300s – and introduced to the clarinet aged nine.
Gaining a coveted place on a specialist music course at Peter Symonds College, Winchester, I was given the opportunity to make my public concerto debut in February, 1981 before taking up a place at the Royal College of Music, London studying with Colin Bradbury.
As a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and principal clarinettist of the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra, London, I have been privileged to come under the tutelage of such notable conductors as Sir David Willcocks, Ricardo Chailly, Kirill Kondrashin, John Rutter, Basil Tchaikov, John Frances, Christopher Fry and Terence Lovett.
But despite my early successes, I decided to abandon the music profession altogether a year before graduating
After an alternative career path which has included nursing, sales & marketing, personal training and international tax planning, I finally returned to the music industry in 2008 and have been building my own business portfolio in the industry ever since.
Why Should You Care?
With the benefit of hindsight and a long and varied career, I’m building the foundations of a career in music rather later in life than many of my peers. I’m doing this in public – both online and in the real world – and sharing my journey along the way which means that you can experience the highs, lows and in-betweens of what it takes to make it on your own.
I’m pursuing a somewhat unorthodox route – I’ve never been one to stick with convention! – so if you’re looking for inspiration, courage and someone who knows how it feels to step off the standard career path and carve out a life of their own making, join me as I share the twists and turns of this story with you.
I’m also on a mission – a mission to help inspire, motivate and act as a catalyst for positive, sustainable change within the classical music industry. I don’t have all the answers myself but I believe in collaboration, community and connection – and that’s what underpins all the projects I’m involved in.
How To Get Involved
I always have a number of projects on the go at any one time – these currently include:
Classical Music Connects – a collaborative venture, designed to bring together communities at venues across 5 countries for collaborative performances by myself and colleagues who are themselves locals.
Zero 2 Maestro – a project designed to provide useful resources to other musicians and enable them to create a career and income streams from their musical talents.
Services for other musicians – leveraging my experience, contacts and knowledge to help other musicians on specific areas they’re struggling with.
If you’d like to get involved in any way, there are a number of things I’m always on the lookout for:
- Potential gig venues
- Financial donations
- Musical collaborators and collaborations
My strengths, so I’m told, are my “can do” attitude and my persistence. If something doesn’t work, I’ll try something else and just figure out new ways to achieve “mission accomplished”. If that sounds like the kind of approach you need, we can do this together…I’d love you to join me.